Friday, May 24, 2013

Some examples of
species protected by the ESA in the Southeast (clockwise): Tar River
spinymussel, West Indian manatee, Puerto Rican parrot, Florida panther, piping
plover, red wolf, and Tennessee purple coneflower (USFWS photo credits).

The
Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted on December 28, 1973. In the past 40 years since, it has been one
of the world’s most influential laws on species conservation. The ESA
has been credited with saving 99 percent of listed species from extinction and
has contributed to countless species recovery efforts.

Today, the ESA protects 1,436 domestic species and 618 foreign species. Domestically,
flowering plants make up the bulk of the protected species (54%). The red wolf is one of 85 threatened and
endangered species listed in the U.S. The red wolf was actually one first
species to be listed. Initially, about
50 species were protected under
the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, which later became the
ESA. Many of these species
are imperiled for the same reasons: habitat loss and degradation. Increasing
population growth and development continue to threaten habitat for plants and
wildlife. Over the years, ESA had protected habitat and ecosystems resulting through
programs like habitat conservation plans, safe harbor agreements, and
conservation banks in the delisting of approximately 60 species and the
reclassification of ~35 species. To
learn more about the ESA, you can visit USFWS Endangered
Species webpage or download the USFWS
ESA Factsheet.

Endangered Species Day is an opportunity for everyone to learn about
the importance of protecting endangered species and everyday actions that
people can take to help protect our nation’s disappearing wildlife and last
remaining open space. Not sure what you can do?Check out these top 10 tips from the Endangered Species Coalition:

1)Learn about endangered species in your
area:Teach your friends and family
about the wonderful wildlife, birds, fish and plants that live near you!

2) Visit a national wildlife refuge,
park or other open space:Get
involved by volunteering at your local nature center, zoo, or wildlife refuge or go
wildlife or bird watching in nearby parks.

3) Make your home wildlife friendly:Secure garbage in shelters or cans with
locking lids, feed pets indoors and lock pet doors at night to avoid attracting
wild animals into your home. Reduce your use of water in your home and garden
so that animals that live in or near water can have a better chance of
survival. Disinfect bird baths often to avoid disease transmission.

8) Never purchase products made from threatened
or endangered species:Be careful
about bringing back souvenirs from overseas trips. Avoid supporting the market
in illegal wildlife including: tortoise-shell, ivory, and coral.Be careful of products including fur from
tigers, polar bears, sea otters and other endangered wildlife, crocodile skin,
live monkeys or apes, most live birds including parrots, macaws, cockatoos and
finches, some live snakes, turtles and lizards, some orchids, cacti and cycads,
medicinal products made from rhinos, tiger or Asiatic black bear.

9) Report any harassment or shooting of
threatened and endangered species: Harassing wildlife is cruel and illegal.
Shooting, trapping, or forcing a threatened or endangered animal into captivity
is also illegal and can lead to their extinction. Don't participate in this
activity, and report it as soon as you see it to your local state or federal wildlife enforcement office.

10) Protect wildlife habitats: The
greatest threat that faces many species is the widespread destruction of
habitat. By protecting habitat, entire communities of animals and plants can be
protected together. Parks, wildlife refuges, and other open space should be
protected near your community. Open space also provides us with great places to
visit and enjoy. Support wildlife habitat and open space protection in your
community. When you are buying a house, consider your impact on wildlife
habitat.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Pup season is winding down now here at the Red Wolf Recovery Program. Totals for 2013 will be announced shortly, but in the meantime, we thought we’d share a foster opportunity we had
last week.A female red wolf pup was
born in late April this year at the Sandy Ridge captive site, the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan facility on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.She was the sole survivor of her
litter.This presented a good
opportunity to foster her into a wild litter of similar age.Fostering pups from a captive litter to a
wild litter has been a successful tool used by the Red Wolf Recovery Programas a means to increase the numbers of wild red
wolves and enhance the genetic diversity of the wild population.

Pup fostering was first used in 2002, when two captive-born
pups were successfully fostered into a wild litter.Since then, we have seen some success
with pup fostering with similar efforts.In fact, no wild red wolf mother has ever been known to reject a
fostered pup, and the fostered pups’ survival rates appear to be equal to that
of their wild-born packmates.There are
several factors that can determine the likelihood of successful fostering. Ideally,
the pups need to be no older than two-weeks of age at the time of the
fostering. During this time, the
strong maternal instinct of the mother decreases the likelihood
of pup rejection. The pups have limited mobility at this age as well, which ensures
they will stay in or nearby the den site (and the mother). We also aim to have all the pups similar in
age, which can reduce any one-sided competition for food.Lastly, a potential foster mother is usually
selected based on her having a relatively low number of pups in her litter.

In this case, there were two female pups already present in
the wild litter, and all the pups were between 9-11 days old.Once the new foster pup was covered with the scent (urine) of the other pups in the litter, all three pups were placed back into the den. We’ll keep you posted on their progress!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Please help us welcome our most recent addition to the Red Wolf Recovery Program, Lizzy!She is the red wolf caretaker intern from April
through August 2013.

Lizzy grew up in Herndon, Virginia and attended the
University of Delaware, where she double majored in Wildlife Conservation and
Agriculture & Natural Resources. Since she was a kid, animals and nature
have always been her two biggest passions, due in part of the fact she was in Girl
Scouts for 13 years. Lizzy has always known that working with wolves would be
her end goal, and she is very happy that she’s received the opportunity to make
this dream into reality.

We are very lucky to have her part of the program, as she
brings lots of experience from a variety of different wildlife jobs, beginning
with teaching hunter education for Vermont Fish & Wildlife, teaching animal
education at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado, and husbandry for a wide
variety of animals at Plumpton Park Zoo in Maryland. Lizzy began working with
wolves at the Wolf Education
and Research Center in Idaho, where she cared for wolves and participated in
visitor education programs. Now, Lizzy is continuing this path with the Red Wolf Recovery Program.

Photo credit: USFWS/R. Nordsven

Long term, Lizzy’s goal is to continue working with wolves
and become a wolf biologist. Living out a childhood dream has already been an
incredible experience for her, and she’s sure it can only get better from here.
She is still figuring out the next role after this position, but we’re excited
to have her here now, and you can guarantee her future will have something to
do with animals and improving their world.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Red Wolf Recovery Program

The red wolf (Canis rufus) is one of the world's most endangered canids. Once common throughout the eastern and southcentral United States, red wolf populations were decimated by the early part of the 20th Century as a result of intensive predator control programs and the degradation and alteration of the species' habitat. The red wolf was designated an endangered species in 1967, and shortly thereafter the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated efforts to conserve the species. Today, more than 100 red wolves roam their native habitats in eastern North Carolina, and nearly 200 red wolves are maintained in captive breeding facilities throughout the United States. To learn more about red wolves, please visit our website at www.fws.gov/redwolf.

[All photos are the property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are in the public domain. You are free to use them as you wish - no permission is necessary. However, we ask that you give credit to the photographer and/or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (example, Photo credit: John Doe/USFWS)].